


I Know Something You Don't

by somedayisours



Series: Before All Others [7]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dead Jason Blossom, Dysfunctional Family, FP Jones II tries, Gen, I spelled Jughead as Hufhead at one point when writing this, I'm not happy so I'll be back, Jughead Jones is Not a Southside Serpent, Murder Mystery, Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, Pre-Canon, Protective FP Jones II, Season/Series 01, Statutory Rape Mention, Summer Vacation, Twilight Drive-In Movie Theater (Riverdale), probably out of character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 00:31:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19983094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somedayisours/pseuds/somedayisours
Summary: The summer before his sophomore year plays out a little different for Jughead Jones.





	I Know Something You Don't

Jughead'll learn later that the reason Archie called off their summer road trip was so he could spend said summer porking their music teacher, Ms. Grundy. He'll be angry but it isn't really Archie's fault, is it?

But right now Jughead's spending all his time alternating between the Twilight Dive-In and Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe to wait out the scorching days until school's back in session. He's there sitting in the diner with a chocolate shake when he hears of the Blossom twin's accident on Sweetwater River for the first time.

By the end of the day, everyone in town knows the story just as well as it's narrator. The tale is that Jason and Cheryl Blossom had decided to take a nice little trip together on the Sweetwater River, Cheryl had dropped her glove in the water on accident and when reaching to retrieve it for her Jason had tipped the boat. The water polo star had panicked and drown, leaving his sister to swim to shore alone.

They're dragging the river for his body before the day is out.

No matter how much power the Blossoms wield within Riverdale there's still a showing at the Drive-In that Jughead's got to be there for. They're playing Jaws, a touch too close to bad taste all things considered, but it can't be helped.

They drag the river every day for the rest of the week and still, nothing turns up, not even Cheryl's glove. They expand their search, Sweetwater even down by Greendale is being combed, rumour says, something about undercurrents carrying the body farther than they expected. Life in the small town of Riverdale moves on as much as it can.

Jughead starts taking midnight walks because he can't get his brain to stop. It's good to feel the cool air on his skin, to be away from it all.

"Jug."

It's been nearly three weeks since he's spoken to his father, yet he doesn't slow even when FP's hand seizes his arm.

"You can't be out here."

"You don't get to—" The words die in his throat when he spins around on his heel and catches sight of his father's face. It isn't anger that Jughead sees in the pinch of FP's brows and the tightness of his lips, but fear. He's afraid, Jughead realizes with a chill.

"Dad? What's happened?"

"There's a dead boy," His father says like that explains everything. And maybe it does.

"I'm nobody," He refutes and shrugs off his father's hand. "It was an accident anyways."

"No."

"No, it wasn't an accident?" His voice cracks in spite of himself, and then he sounds stupidly hopeful for the second part. "Or no I'm not nothing."

His father glances around furtively and Jughead can't help but mirror his inspection of their surroundings. Because he can't ever recall his father being like this before.

"You're my son, Jug, I—" FP pauses, stepping closer to whisper. "It isn't safe."

And while Jughead won't admit it, it hurts to hear something so close to what he wants his father to say. "There's plenty of things that aren't safe, Dad." And with that whatever familial spell had taken over the both of them breaks.

His father doesn't stop him when he turns his back on him, taking off in the direction of the Drive-In like he'd been heading there to begin with.

"Jughead!"

FP's still standing there where Jughead left him, alone in the middle of the street with his face partially obscured by the shadows cast by the streetlight behind him.

"You have to be careful!"

He stops going out for his nightly strolls, and not because FP asked him to he tells himself.

The end of July can't come soon enough, so he fills that whole final week with classic horror movies. With the exception being Black Christmas, deciding he'll save that for the winter holiday itself.

They're playing Eyes Without a Face the final Tuesday of the month it's then that Jughead sees his father again when he's grabbing a soda from the concession stand. Nothing comes of it, just a nod from across the lot, but it reminds him of the fearful look in his father's eyes. There's none of that in FP's face now but it sends Jughead's mind spinning.

Jughead's sat alone in a booth at Pop's when Joaquin approaches, sliding to the seat across from him with a mischievous smile.

"My dad sent you, didn't he?"

Joaquin shrugs, dipping one of Jughead's stollen fries into the puddle of ketchup he's made on a napkin. "Your old man's worried." For all his mock casualness the graveness of his face says something completely different.

"Is there something I should know?" He asks, leaning forward across the table into Joaquin's space.

Joaquin mirrors him, stuffing the ketchup soaked fry in his mouth. "You tell me, is there something you should know?" With a chuckle, he snatches up another fry. "I imagine Jason's not looking so good by now."

"So what?" Jughead returns, "You've seen him lately?"

Joaquin's face goes white at that, "Don't say that." He snaps, leaning back against the seat for support to gather himself, "I haven't been down to the river, too much activity for my taste."

"Okay."

There's a beat of silence where the ketchup puddle shrinks drastically and Jughead's mountain of fries sink down into something resembling more of a hill.

"Want a shake?" Before he can answer Joaquin's already swiveled around in his seat and shouted at Pop for twin vanilla milkshakes. "Don't worry I'll pay."

"Good, because I wasn't."

Joaquin laughs at that, restoring the ketchup puddle to its original glory. "So what are you doing?" He asks while attacking the ketchup with some fries again.

"Getting my food stolen by my Serpent babysitter."

"Hardy-har-har." He derided, "I meant on your laptop, Jug."

"Get me another basket of fries to go with the shake and I'll tell you."

Joaquin squints at him for that, his hand searching blindly for more fries in the empty basket. Jughead raises an eyebrow when the other boy comes up empty-handed from his endeavour.

"That was nearly smooth."

"I've had fifteen years to practice, so it better have been."

Joaquin throws his head back and laughs, standing with the empty basket in hand.

It isn't terrible to spend the day shooting the shit with Joaquin despite the fact his father had sent the other boy to hang around him, Jughead decides once he's been dropped off at the Drive-In. When he comes around the next day Joaquin's already there, sitting in the same table as before. Three days later he brought along a girl, Toni, and by the next week, there are two more Serpents squished all into the same booth at Pop's. It beats sitting alone day after day.

But the question nags at him when he lays in bed every night trying to fall asleep when Joaquin meets his eye from across the table when Jason's body doesn't turn up after weeks of searching. Joaquin's too skittish about it, but Jughead can't forget his father's concerned face that night when he told him to be careful. And so he makes up his mind with only a week to spare before classes start again.

He goes looking for his father after a showing at the Twilight Drive-In before the Serpent's have all cleared out.

FP isn't alone when Jughead finds him, and it takes him a moment to place the voice his father's arguing with. It's Clifford Blosson he realizes with dread.

"You have a son too, don't you Jones?" Jason's father asks with false innocence.

"Don't you fucking dare—"

"Oh, I'll dare. Do your job. Do what you want with the body, just get rid of it."

And then he's gone. Jughead can hear his father curse, hit something and curse again before he too has stomped away.

There's his answer for his father's fear, Joaquin's nervousness, and the body they can't find. He stomps back to the Serpents, his father nowhere in sight.

"Where's Joaquin?"

Toni frowns, checking the level of her soda by shaking the lidded cup. "I don't know. Toilet?"

He's there washing his hands when Jughead enters.

"I knew it was something, but this?"

Joaquin snorts, catching his eyes in the mirror. "What are you talking about, Jug?"

"Jason."

His face falls, the smile melting like icecream under the hot summer sun.

"He's dead. Murder, why else would you need to get rid of a body?"

"How—" Joaquin starts, but he changes his mind. Grabbing the pacing Jughead and holding him against the concrete wall. "What happened?"

"My dad and Clifford Blosson," He admits haltingly.

"He killed his own son," Joaquin hisses, the hand clutching Jughead's jacket digging into his chest. There's fear there, horror too, "His son. Shot right between the eyes."

"Joaquin..."

"Don't. Just fucking don't." His hand drops from Jughead's jacket like he's been burned. His hands are shaking. "Shut up about it, Jug, if you know what's good for you. For your dad, for the rest of us." And then he's gone, the door of the restroom swinging shut behind him with a bang.

For the first time in his life, Jughead attempts to listen. He helps Ben clean up the concession stand in numb silence, organize the film reels, and crawls into bed. He lays there, unmoving until the sun starts peeking through the cracks.

At Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe he sits alone huddled in a booth, a nearly empty basket of fries on the Formica table beside his laptop. Not far from him a body lays abandoned—but not forgotten—in the Sweetwater River.

 _I know who killed Jason Blossom_.

**Author's Note:**

> I know Black Christmas is more of a cult classic but let me name drop one of my favourite horror movies.


End file.
